You and Me
by CarVie16
Summary: Prologue of "Forever Wicked". Evie is a narcissistic teenage girl with an obsession for beauty, but has no friends to bond with. Carlos is an intelligent teenage boy with an affinity for technology, but is treated horribly by every villain kid of his age. What happens when these two lost souls cross paths? (My version of the first book, "Isle of the Lost")


**Hi, everyone. Welcome to the prologue of my new Descendants FanFiction series, titled "Forever Wicked."**

 **As is said in the summary, this prologue follows the plot of the first novel, "Isle of the Lost". It will feature some changes, mostly involving the friendship between Carlos and Evie... with a bit of background on Mal for my series. I just want to let you all know that I do not mean to disrespect the first novel. I loved it. This story is just a harmless rewritten version of the book that focuses mainly on Evie and Carlos. The book is, after all, the reason I started shipping Carlos/Evie. To each his/her own, you know.**

 **While the purpose of this prologue will not be explained right here, I want everyone to know that this new series is meant for everyone. This story is just meant to lay the groundwork for the series I am writing. While we all may be familiar with the Descendants universe, I still think a starting point is appropriate.**

 **Please, leave a review after reading. Feedback is always appreciated. If you're late, don't hesitate (Ha, that rhymes).**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you see the title, "Forever Wicked," on the summary of a story of mine, it means it's part of my new series. I just want to make it as clear as I can. I may or may not write other Descendants stories that are NOT involved with my new series.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Descendants.**

The Isle of the Lost is an island filled with the worst villains in history, whom are sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment under a magical barrier that blocks magic in order to prevent them from causing harm to the good people of Auradon. Twenty years of imprisonment have turned them into shells of their former evil selves. The villain kids, however, have suffered worse from the imprisonment, whether it's being treated like servants, being repeatedly told they're a disappointment, or having to take care of themselves because their parents don't care about them.

The villain kids spent their growing years striving to be as evil as their parents. They ransack stores, vandalize property, and fight each other.

Only one villain kid didn't get to grow up doing these things. Her name is Evie, the daughter of Evil Queen. She and her mother were banished to Castle Across the Way on the far side of the island by Maleficent, the ruler of the Isle. The reason for this is because the evil fairy's daughter, Mal, wasn't invited to Evie's sixth birthday party. The young princess spent the next ten years castle-schooling, mostly learning make-up tips from her mother, who aspires for her to get married to a prince and live in a castle someday.

It was safe to say that Evie was not content with her life. While she did wish to marry a prince and live like royalty, there was a nagging feeling inside telling her that there was more to life than just being beautiful. She wanted to make friends, cause some trouble, be feared, but she couldn't do any of those things when she's cooped up in a castle far away from the village with only her, dare she think it, crazed mother for company.

At age 16, Evie finally gets her wish of going to Dragon Hall. She was only half-excited because even though this is her chance to make some friends, she was afraid she wouldn't fit in. She looks at herself in the mirror in the hallway, wondering if she should actually go through with this. She has been waiting for this day her entire life, but now that it's come, she's unsure about living through it.

"Evie!" Her mother's voice echoed through the castle walls.

Evie walks to the castle's front door, where her mother is waiting for her. After adjusting her daughter's hair and inspecting her face, Evil Queen opens the door for her daughter. The teenage princess takes her first step out of the castle since she was six years old and felt her nerves tense, obviously nervous for her first day.

As Evie walked down the streets of the Isle, everyone ignored what they were doing and laid their eyes on her. Evie notices the dozens of eyeballs staring at her. A part of her felt creeped out by the staring, but the other part of her was enjoying the attention. She puts on a smile and puts her hands on her hips, posing as she struts towards Dragon Hall. She sees a street vendor selling apples. She grabs one without paying and takes a bite out of it before throwing it away, unknowingly hitting a man, who falls into a barrel of water.

* * *

Evie's arrival at Dragon Hall drew the same kind of attention as the people on the streets. They all stared at her with awe. Some of the girls seem envious, while the boys seem to be drooling. Evie keeps on smiling as she waved at everyone and even did some graceful movements with her hair. The Gaston twins whistled flirtatiously at her.

"I could get used to this," said Evie.

After discussing her class schedule with Dr. Facilier, the headmaster of Dragon Hall, she proceeds to Mother Gothel's class, Selfishness 101. She sits down on a desk in the front row, one that included the largest cauldron in the classroom. Gasps were heard around the room. Evie assumed they were admiring her beauty. Just when she started to feel good about her first day, a certain purple-haired teenage girl wearing purple leather walked into the room. She was not in a good mood today and her facial expression shows it. Everyone stood back as the daughter of Maleficent walked towards the new student.

"Ahem!" Mal cleared her throat loudly to attract Evie's attention.

At first sight of Mal, Evie felt intimidated, but she tried to remain calm and poised. "Bad to meet you. I'm Evie. And you are...?"

"The girl who's going to turn your face black and blue if you don't get your butt off my desk in the next two seconds," Mal said threateningly.

"Oh, this was your seat? I'm sorry, but it has such a great view of the front," Evie said with a smile that hides how nervous she feels right now.

Losing her patience, Mal slams her fist on the desk, startling Evie and every student in the classroom.

"Get off my desk, now," Mal said with a soft but furious tone in her voice.

Evie quickly grabs her belongings and rushes out of the desk. The only available desk in the room is an empty one in the back row. She sits down and tries to recover from the fear she just experienced earlier. Looking to her right, she sees a boy tinkering with some kind of black, cube-shaped device. His hair is almost as white as a cloud. She admits that it's a good look on him, if he would ditch the puffy cloud look and go for a different style. She was thinking slick back or sideways combed.

His sense of fashion also captured her attention. He was wearing a fur-collared jacket with the colors red, black, and white.

"Hey," she greeted him.

The boy looks away from his contraption and sees the girl sitting next to him.

"Is that who I thought it was?" Evie asked him, pointing at the purple-haired girl in the front row.

The boy didn't answer her. He was just staring at her, mouth agape, with a near-blank expression on his face. Evie had no idea how to respond to this so she just smiled at him. The longer he stared, the more she felt weirded out. Her genuine smile turned into a sheepish grin. She raises her fingers in front of his face and snaps, causing him to flinch.

"Stare much?" Evie teased.

"S-So-Sorry," the boy stuttered. "I just... you're... uh... you're..."

"Beautiful?" Evie guessed, blinking at him.

"If I say yes, will you _not_ hit me?" The boy asked.

Evie responds by petting the boy like a dog. The little boy blushed as he swats Evie's hand off his hair and adjusts his white locks.

"I'm Evie," said the blue-haired princess.

"I'm Carlos. Carlos De Vil" the boy introduced himself.

Evie was surprised to learn his last name. It means that he must be the son of Cruella De Vil herself. It made sense, considering that the villainess' taste for red, black, and white clothing. _Like mother, like son_ , she thought.

"It's, uh, really nice to see you again," said Carlos.

"Um, excuse me?" Evie questioned, confused by the boy's words.

"We met before, at your birthday party ten years ago," said Carlos.

Evie continued to look confused, until she remembered. "Oh, right. Now I remember. I thought the hair looked familiar."

"You, uh, you like it?" asked Carlos, combing his hair upward with his fingers.

"You could do better," Evie replied.

Carlos was a little offended, but he just chortled in response.

"I saw what happened," said Carlos, referring to Evie's recent encounter with Mal. "I'm surprised you made it out of that without a bruise."

"That was Mal, right? As in Maleficent's daughter?" asked Evie.

"Darn right," said Carlos. "You don't want to mess with her. Her mom may rule the island, but Mal practically controls the streets. She doesn't just talk a big game. She can back up whatever she says, trust me."

"I can tell," said Evie, shivering from the memory of Mal slamming her fist in front of her. Trying to forget about that, she turns her attention back to the boy next to her. "What about you? What's your game?"

"I don't really have one, unless getting beat up and pushed around is considered a game," Carlos said with clear sorrow in his tone.

Evie felt something inside her as she listened. It was a feeling that made her frown and told her to comfort the boy. Was that _sympathy_? No, it can't be. Villain kids aren't supposed to feel sympathy. They're supposed to find amusement in one's suffering.

Evie decides to change the subject to ignore her feelings. "So, where do you live?"

"Hell Hall," Carlos answered.

"No way!" Evie exclaimed, surprised. "Hell Hall's not too far from my place."

"Yeah, I know," said Carlos. "I see Castle Across the Way every time I look out the window."

"You wouldn't happen to be spying on me, would you?" Evie teased him.

"N-N-No," Carlos stuttered again. "Wh-Why would I d-do that? That's... that's inappropriate."

Evie smiled and laughed, amused by the boy's obvious uneasiness towards her. _Has he ever talked to a girl before_ , she wondered.

Carlos tried to hide his nervousness by focusing on his contraption, but he would catch himself repeatedly glancing at the girl next to him. He didn't know why but seeing her was making him feel funny inside. _Why do I keep making myself look like an idiot in front of girls_ , he asked himself.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

After "Selfies" class, Evie walks out of the classroom with Carlos to check on his class schedule. She won't admit it but she wanted to stay with him all day. She never pondered why she wanted to. She just wants to. Fortunately for her, they were both attending Lady Tremaine's class for Advanced Evil Schemes and Nasty Plots.

"Whoa!" Carlos sounded shocked. "You must have a really high EQ to be in her class."

"181," said Evie. "You?"

"139," said Carlos.

Evie responds by patting Carlos in the back hard. Carlos laughs nervously as he rubbed his slightly aching back.

"I know it sounds disappointing, but I'm badder than you think," said Carlos, feeling confident of his wickedness.

"Prove it," said Evie, putting a hand on her hip.

Carlos looks around to see if there's anyone to mess with. He sees Reza, his rival in Weird Science class. He was currently talking to Harriet Hook and Anthony Tremaine while holding a corked vial filled with a colorless chemical. Knowing what chemical it was, Carlos smirks as an idea pops in his head.

"Just stand back and watch," Carlos said to the new student.

Carlos adjusts his jacket's fur collar as he approaches his rival. Evie watches in anticipation, half-hoping to see him humiliate himself.

"Hey, Reza!" Carlos called.

Reza sighed. He sounded irritated. He did not even bother to turn around as he already recognized the voice of who spoke to him.

"What matter of nonsensical interruption is this, De Vil?" asked Reza.

"Is that sulfuric acid?" Carlos asked, looking at the vial.

"Indeed," answered Reza. "What about it?"

"You know, diluting the acid using water causes its molecules' temperature to rise, allowing it to disintegrate anything depending on the chemical's heat and density," said Carlos.

"I am aware of that, Carlos," said Reza. "I am no imbecile, unlike you."

"Oh, you're gonna take that back," Carlos said as his nerves shook with anger.

"And how do you propose you're going to retaliate?" asked Reza.

To everyone's surprise, Carlos kicks Reza to the wall, causing him to drop the vial. Carlos catches it before it hit the ground. He picks up a vial from Reza's bag and pours a few drops of its content into the sulfuric acid. He then throws the vial to the ground, breaking it and releasing a cloud of smoke that causes Reza's jacket to slowly deteriorate. Reza panics as he removes his jacket. The jacket continues to deteriorate until it was almost nothing.

"What in the stars did you do?" Reza asked with fury. He was only wearing a torn sleeveless shirt.

"Just added a little liquid helium so the acid can be spread in gas form," Carlos answered with a grin.

"That was my only jacket!" Reza yelled.

"Then go get a new one," Carlos mocked him.

Reza grabs his stuff and walks away. Most of the kids laughed at his embarrassment, including Evie and Carlos. Evie puts her arm around Carlos as she tries to stop herself from laughing. It was hard to stop, though.

"Okay, exposing that awful shirt of his, that was evil," said Evie, laughing in between words.

"I'm proud to impress," Carlos said proudly.

The two smiled at each other. Evie felt proud of him, and Carlos felt proud of himself because she looked impressed. However, their moment was interrupted by a familiar, terrifying voice.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Carlos De Vil."

Evie and Carlos turned around to see Mal, accompanied by Jay, son of Jafar. Just the sight of Mal strikes fear into Carlos. He tried his best to stay calm, to little avail.

"I see you're finally stepping up your game, Snowball," said Mal, subtly impressed.

Evie laughed again. "Snowball?"

"Mal has a thing for nicknames," said Jay. "She called me _Street Snake_ once."

"Why not Street Rat?" asked Evie.

"Rats are captured more often than not. Snakes, on the other hand, they're slippery, like me," said Jay, wiggling his eyebrows at Evie in a flirtatious manner.

"Ugh," Mal sighed with disgust. "Cut it out, Bean Bag."

"See?" Jay said, pointing at Mal.

Mal rolls her eyes before looking back at the white-haired tech prodigy. "Hey, Carlos, your mom's away on some spa trip, right?"

"Uh, yeah," said Carlos.

"Well, I need a place throw a wicked party for tonight and I think Hell Hall might just be the perfect place," said Mal. "Besides, my mom hates parties, so I can't really have it at home."

"I, uh, don't think that's a good idea," said Carlos. "I have a lot of chores to do and my mom won't like it if..."

Mal interrupts Carlos by grabbing him by his shirt and pushing him to the wall, attracting everyone's attention. She kept her grip on his shirt tight as she looked at him closely in the eye. Carlos started to perspire as his eyes made contact with Mal's green irises. She moves closer as her eyes started glowing. It was the one kind of magic that the barrier couldn't block. She and her mother have the ability to induce fear into their victims by staring at them directly in the eye.

The longer Carlos stared into Mal's eyes, the more his fear overwhelmed him. Mal lets go of Carlos, who collapses to the floor, feeling nauseous. Evie felt the need to approach him and help him, but she was too late when Mal put her hands on Carlos again, holding him against the wall.

"Listen to me, you little mutt," Mal said with anger. "You _will_ throw this party for me, or I swear to mother, I will add another scar to your collection. Do you understand me?"

Carlos shakes his head up and down quickly in response.

"Good," said Mal.

Mal lets Carlos go. Evie quickly tends to her friend, who still feels dizzy and on the verge of passing out.

"Spread the word. Hell Hall's having a hell raiser tonight," Mal ordered.

"So, you're having a party?" Evie asked, smiling at the thought of attending it.

"Right, I forgot you were here," Mal said sarcastically. "Sorry, princess, but you're not invited."

Evie's smile drops. Mal smirks, feeling proud of herself. Mal tilted her head when she noticed Evie's class schedule paper. Her smirk turned into a grin when she saw what was next on her schedule.

"You're in Lady Tremaine's class?" Mal laughed at the thought.

"Hard to believe?" asked Evie.

"You did just rush over to someone who was hurt," said Mal. "That's called compassion. You should know better."

"I think my EQ would say otherwise," Evie boasted. "How high is yours?"

"250," Mal answered.

Evie's eyes widened with surprise. Feeling satisfied, Mal walks off and enters Lady Tremaine's classroom. Jay just stood in the middle of the hall, looking back and forth between the purple-haired fairy and the new girl.

"Does anyone else here have an EQ as high as her?" asked Evie.

"No one on this island except Mal has an EQ over 200," said Jay. "Which should probably warn you not to cross her."

Jay walks away to join Mal.

"Like I said, Mal doesn't just talk a big game. She's got the rage and a little bit of magic to back up her threats," said Carlos. Before Evie can ask a question, he says, "Don't ask."

"Too bad I can't go to the party," Evie said sadly.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll come over to your place after I finish setting up the party," said Carlos. "You wanna see what I'm making?"

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Evie and Carlos enter Lady Tremaine's classroom and sit next to each other. Carlos reaches into his bag and takes out what appears to be a black box. Evie takes a closer look at it. It had a bunch of wires attached to it, as well as an antenna. She also found a hole on the side where a small orb was placed in the center of the device. The orb glowed green.

"What is all this for?" Evie asked, curious.

"I'm trying to open a hole in the barrier," Carlos answered.

"Is that even possible?" asked Evie.

"Based on everything I've learned, magic is just a form a science that we can't explain," said Carlos. "Point is, if I can tap into the right frequency, I might be able to blast a hole in the dome and pick up radio waves from Auradon. That way, we can actually watch something other than the Auradon News Network and the Dungeon Shopping Channel."

"I kinda like the Auradon Channel, especially Prince of the Week. They're charming," Evie said, daydreaming about the princes in Auradon.

Carlos rolls his eyes as he tinkers with his black box again.

"How do you propose you're gonna punch a hole in the barrier?" asked Evie.

Carlos begins to explain how the black box works. "So, the power core inside the box needs to be charged in order to function flawlessly. That's what all these wires are for. If I can rewire them correctly to send a stable flow of electricity to the power core, the magnetic field it generates, amplified by coil wrapped around it, will release an electromagnetic pulse that could, theoretically, punch a hole in the barrier."

Carlos looks at Evie, who was just staring at him with a creepy smile on her face.

"Sounds... interesting," said Evie.

"You didn't understand a word I said, did you?" Carlos guessed.

"I understood a few," said Evie.

"Clearly, you're no science enthusiast," Carlos commented.

"You said you have no game. You're wrong," said Evie. "You do have one. Science-y stuff and technobabble."

"Yeah, well, not many villain kids appreciate science like me," said Carlos.

Evie pets Carlos like a dog again. Carlos smacks Evie's arm away, but she would only continue to pet him. The two ended up slap-fighting each other. Evie was clearly enjoying herself, as shown by her smile and giggles.

In the front row, Mal was thinking about an evil scheme that would win her Dragon Hall's Evilest of the Year, again. Her contemplation was cut short when she heard giggling in the back row. She turns around and sees Evie and Carlos slap-fighting. The giggles clearly came from Evie. The slap flight eventually stops and they turn their focus to the black box. Mal couldn't help but notice the way Carlos looks at Evie. He looked nervous or embarrassed being so closer to her. When Evie moved her chair closer to his, her hair brushed against his cheeks. Mal could swear that he was starting to turn red.

 _Looks like poor little Snowball's been bitten by the love bug_ , Mal thought.

Evie catches Carlos staring at her, causing him to look away. Evie decides to toy with Carlos by leaning closer and resting her head on his shoulder. From Mal's perspective, Carlos turned even redder in response.

 _Seems like Princess Blueberry has a bad case of the lovey-dovey-itis_ , Mal chuckled at the thought.

After classes, Evie and Carlos were about to walk out the door, until Mal walked up right in front of them. Carlos takes a step back, afraid of what she could want now.

"Hey, Evie, about that party I was talking about, I was just kidding. Of course you're invited," Mal said, hiding her hate behind her sweet tone. "You're the new kid, after all. All that solitude in some dusty old castle, I thought maybe you'd like to see how we villain kids throw a howler these days."

"Well, I'll be there then," Evie said happily, excited to be invited. "I'll wear my best dress."

"In that case, I'll wear my best leather," said Mal.

Mal walks out of the classroom with a sinister smile on her face, one that sends shivers down Jay's spine at first sight. She was up to something, he could tell.

* * *

Carlos did as Mal said and threw a party at Hell Hall. After sending the invitations, using threats that he believes Mal would make, he started decorating his home, with help from his _minions_ , Harry and Jace. He made sure that Hell Hall looked like a place for a villain-kid-themed party, while adding a little _De Vil_ touch to it. For entertainment, he called his cousin, Diego, and booked his band a gig at Mal's party.

At near midnight, guests started arriving. As Carlos fully expected, they did not hesitate to trash the place just for the fun of it. They were either swinging on the chandeliers, causing a mess while playing food-related games, or intentionally splashing their drinks on the floor just to see someone slip and fall. Diego's band was playing so loud that Carlos couldn't hear his own voice.

What he does hear is a loud knock on the door, one that everyone heard as well. The band stopped playing. The boys stopped fighting. The girls stopped gossiping. Carlos recognized that pattern of the knocking from anywhere. He pulls his shirt collar and gulps nervously, knowing exactly who was at the door. He wishes he didn't have to answer the door, but since he's the host, he has no choice.

"Go away!" Carlos yelled as he opened the door.

Carlos stopped and blinked when he saw that the person at the door was, indeed, Mal. She was wearing a shiny purple leather jacket that, unlike the one she usually wears, sparkled when exposed to the light. Carlos had to move himself because the light was reflecting to his eyes.

"Am I late?" asked Mal.

Carlos chuckled. "Does _late_ even exist here on the Isle?"

Mal walks inside, but instead of stealing a glass of spicy cider from someone, she grabs Carlos by the shirt and pulls him closer for another face-to-face talk.

"I'm glad you didn't stand me up," said Mal.

Carlos smiles nervously. The smirk on Mal's face made it clear that she enjoyed watching him fear her up close.

"But yell at me like that again and I'll tell your mother about this party," Mal threatened.

"I know you like getting up close and personal with your victims, but this is a little too close," said Carlos.

"Expecting a kiss?" Mal teased.

"Not really," said Carlos.

"Good, 'cause you're not getting one," said Mal.

Mal pushes Carlos away from her. She swipes a glass of cider from one of the Gaston twins and then stands on top of a table.

"Let's have a wicked bad time!" Mal shouted.

Everyone raised their fists and/or glasses and cheered, feeling re-energized by the arrival of the worst villain of their generation. The band continued to play as Mal drank the entire glass before throwing it the floor, smashing it to tiny pieces. After she hopped off the table, she started having fun. She looted some wallets, gossiped with the girls, and jumped on the tables.

"You look like you're having fun," said Jay, who approached her as soon as she jumped off a table.

"Hardly," Mal said as she crossed her arms. "Where's Carlos?"

"Hiding from his own party, obviously" said Jay.

"Where's Princess Blueberry?" asked Mal.

"Oh, you mean Evie? She's not here, at least, not yet, I guess," said Jay.

"She better come," Mal growled. "If not, then she's getting the mark tomorrow morning."

Jay scratched his head nervously. "Yeah, I'm not sure that nece..."

Mal's glare forced Jay to close his mouth. He decided to walk away and continue to have fun, leaving Mal to wait for the princess to arrive. Mal sits down on the dining table, drinking more of the cider she loved so much. Not only did it taste not so bad but the energy that the liquid provides her body sends her into a rush. She remembered the last time she drank too much cider. She became flirty with Harry Hook and unusually angry at anyone else who even so much as touches her. She dread to even remember that day but as she said to Jay once, _A girl can never drink too much._

From the corner of her eye, Mal saw the face of the person she's been waiting for all night. Evie, wearing a dark blue dress and matching high-heeled boots.

Mal then turns her attention to Cruella De Vil's closet. She thought back to the day she first went inside. It was four years ago, when she and Carlos were partnered for a project. When she got bored, she roamed around Hell Hall until she found Cruella's closet. She can remember the two scars on Carlos' ankle that he got from the closet that day. She was hoping she can do worse to Evie.

"Okay, everyone!" Mal shouted, capturing everyone's attention. "It's time to play Seven Minutes in Heaven in the De Vil's closet."

Jay sneaks up on Evie and pushes her forward. Mal walks towards the _volunteer_.

"Well, look who made it. Princess Evie," said Mal, pretending to sound happy to see her. "You're just in time to play our little game."

"But shouldn't a boy go in there with me?" asked Evie.

"Ha ha! You're funny," Mal said sarcastically.

Without warning, Mal shoves Evie into the closet and slams the door shut. Mal wipes her hands clean while wearing a smile on her face, feeling proud of herself. Carlos, on the other hand, looked like he was about to panic.

"Mal! You can't just leave her in there!" Carlos said.

"Uh, yes I can," said Mal. "Why do you care?"

"Uh... I..." Carlos didn't know what to say because he didn't know why he was panicking about Evie being in his mother's closet.

"Look, Snowball, if you want her out, go get her yourself," said Mal. "But we both know you won't do it, not after _that_." She pointed at his ankle scars.

Mal walks closer to Carlos and shoots him a sly grin, intimidating him. Mal and the rest of the villain kids continued to party while Carlos remained standing and staring at his mother's closet. He can hear Evie screaming from the other side, pounding on the door, just begging to be released. Why did he have this urge to help her? Is it because he cared about her? Or was it because he's afraid of what his mom will do if she finds a teenage girl in her closet?

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Evie was pounding on the door as hard as she could, but it wouldn't open. She tried yelling for help, but the band was playing so loud that no one can hear her. Evie just slammed her head on the door and whined. She went through all the trouble of picking out a dress and tolerating her mother's attempts to make her beautiful for tonight for nothing, as it seemed.

It's clear to her now that the reason why Mal invited her to this party is to make her feel worthless, to make her feel like she's unwanted, to make her feel lonely. And she succeeded, she admitted, as that's how she feels right now. _Why can't Mal just get over the whole not-being-invited-to-my-sixth-birthday-party thing_ , she screamed in her mind.

Evie steps back from the door, hoping that if she could get far enough and run, she can break it open. However, she felt her foot hit something. From the sound of it, her boot hit something metal. The soft sound was followed by a loud metallic crash. She looks down and screams in fright. There were dozens of bear traps all over the floor. The teeth were so sharp, they can snap her leg in two if she wasn't carefuly. Evie is beginning to understand more about why Mal had chosen to lock her up in here.

She needed to get out of the closet, but only way out is the door that was stuck. Fortunately, there was another door. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the closet, just past the beat traps. If Evie was going to get to safety, she's gonna have to _jump into the fire_.

"Okay, Evie, calm down," she told herself. "Just one small step at a time. You can do this."

After taking a few deep breaths, Evie started tip-toeing around the bear traps, looking for empty space between said traps. She tried to make sure she doesn't touch any of the bear traps. However, she almost loses her balance and her boot touches another trap, causing it to snap shut. This caused her to jump in fright, but she kept her feet away from any more traps.

"C'mon, Evie. Just keep going," she told herself.

Evie started tip-toeing faster, eager to get out of her predicament. However, when she stepped back to plant her foot on the nearest empty space, she falls backwards. Her foot sprung a trap. Luckily, she retracted her foot before it got snatched. However, her other foot struck another, causing it to snap and hit another trap, which hit another trap, springing it. Evie jumped and tip-toed around the bear traps snapping all around her. She loses her balance again and her foot ends up landing on the trigger of a bear trap. Before it snapped, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away towards the door on the other side of the room.

Evie closed her eyes and fought against whoever or whatever grabbed her. Suddenly, something furry fell on her. What she thought was a shaggy monster turned out to be a fur coat, one of many that fell on her. The hand that grabbed her belonged to none other than Carlos De Vil, whose head popped out from beneath the pile of fur coats.

"Um, hi," Carlos greeted her nonchalantly.

"Hi," said Evie. Her voice sounded happy and relieved.

Carlos gets out of the fur coat pile, pulling Evie with him. To his surprise, Evie puts her arms around him as her ocean blue locks brushed against his snow white hair. He can feel his face getting hotter as panic struck him again. He grabs her shoulders and pushes her away.

"What are you doing?" Carlos asked, confused and scared.

"I was, uh... hugging you?" Evie said awkwardly. She felt embarrassed by what she said. She was surprised why she showed that very sign of affection. Was she grateful that he saved her or something?

"And why would you do that?" asked Carlos, still confused and scared.

"I-I don't know," Evie lied, though maybe she didn't. "Where are we?"

Evie eyes her surroundings. They were inside a dressing room. Aside from the pile of fur coats lying on the floor, she can see a lumpy mattress in the corner. She looks at Carlos and sees how he feels about looking at the mattress. It hit her. This was where he slept. But why would Cruella ask her son to sleep in her closet? Hell Hall looks big enough to have more than one bedroom.

"Home sweet home," Carlos said, though he didn't sound happy about it.

"Uh, it's not so bad in here," Evie lied, trying to lift his spirits. "There's a bunch of fur coats here to keep you warm at night and..."

"I'm not allowed to touch them," said Carlos. His mind shifts to another subject. "I don't get it. Why is Mal going through all this just to hurt you?"

"Remember my birthday party ten years ago? Mal wasn't invited," Evie said. She started powdering her nose and applying lipstick in front of a mirror she found. "You remember what happened to Sleeping Beauty when her parents didn't invite Maleficent to her christening, right?"

"I see," Carlos nodded.

Evie growls suddenly. "My mother. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? Challenging Maleficent for control of the Isle... biggest mistake of her life."

"Guess that was just the fire. Not inviting Mal was the fuel that caused the fire to spread," said Carlos.

"Why can't she just get over it?" Evie wondered.

"It's Mal. When she holds a grudge, she never lets it go," said Carlos.

"I never should've left my castle," said Evie. "Maybe I should just go back and never go back to school."

"But you won't, right?" asked Carlos.

Evie faces Carlos, feeling startled by his response. "Why do you care? We're not friends."

"Really, because... I-I-I thought we kinda were," said Carlos.

Evie's despondent look turned into a slightly surprised one. She thought that she had failed to make friends on her first day in school, yet the young boy in front of her had just expressed that he considered her a friend.

"You know what, never mind," said Carlos. "It's your choice, really. I can't make it for you."

Carlos walks towards his _bed_ with depression present on his face. He plopped down on the mattress, looking mopey. His constant adjusting made it clear that it was uncomfortable. Evie frowns at the sight of this. Something popped in her head and she felt like saying what she thought.

"Hey, I have an old comforter I never use," she said. "If you get cold at night, maybe you can... oh, never mind."

Carlos lifts his head at the sound of this.

"Are you... offering me a pillow?" asked Carlos.

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not," said Evie, embarrassed by what she said earlier.

"Well, if you are offering, then I accept," said Carlos. "No one's cared if I was warm before, n-not that you care, of course..."

"Oh, I certainly don't," said Evie, sounding sure of herself. "I'm just offering because we have so many pillows that we need to throw out."

"Consider my home your dumpster," said Carlos, spreading his arms out as if he's making a presentation.

"Sure, no problem." Evie thought it sounded weird.

"Do you, uh, think you ever had a pillow you need to toss out?" Carlos asked, only to mentally slap himself for asking. "I mean, I-I-I never had a pillow before... and we have tons of pillows... wait... I meant, uh..." Carlos started to turn red in embarrassment again as he rambled on. "I-I get a lot pillows... I mean... who's n-never had a pillow before? That's-that's pro-preposterous!"

Evie covers her mouth as she starts to giggle, amused by Carlos' rambling. She wouldn't tell him but she thinks he looks cute while doing it.

"I just, uh, I'm kinda glad you're offering to keep me warm... oh... wait..." Carlos smacks himself in the head for what he said. "What I'm trying to say is... I... I..."

Evie continued to giggle as Carlos tried to juggle his words. She begins to turn red like Carlos as a funny feeling tickles her chest. What was this feeling? And why does it feel so... good?

"Yeah, I think we were gonna throw out a pillow," said Evie, ending Carlos' rambling.

Carlos clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pockets, trying to recover from the embarrassment. Evie can still feel the need to giggle, letting out a soft laugh that lasted for a couple seconds. Carlos tried to avoid eye contact, but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he would catch himself staring at her.

"So, uh, are you still working on that device of yours?" asked Evie.

"Yeah," said Carlos. "You wanna see it?"

"Absolutely," said Evie.

"C'mon, follow me," said Carlos, opening a secret entrance in the wall.

The two attempted to sneak out of the house through the back door. They returned to the party to grab a couple cans of sodas while trying to remain undetected. However, one person _did_ see them. It was Mal. She crushed the glass of cider in her hand in anger, furious that Evie escaped the closet unscathed and that Carlos helped her.

"Son a devil," Mal cursed, silent fury in her voice.

She sucks the cider from her fingers as she leaves the party.

* * *

Carlos leads Evie to the backyard. Well, it wasn't much of a backyard. It was more like a small forest behind Hell Hall, but to Carlos, it was like a backyard. Evie steps over roots and avoids mud puddles as she tried to keep up with Carlos, who was balancing himself on a thin log. He looks back at Evie and decided show off. He moonwalks on the log and then hops off it with a back flip.

"Show off," Evie scoffed.

"Are you not impressed?" asked Carlos.

"By the backwards walking, no. But I like the finish," said Evie.

Evie trips on a rock, but Carlos swoops over and catches her before she falls to the ground. Carlos helps Evie stand on her two feet, all the while staring at her beautiful brown eyes for reasons he doesn't even know. Evie caught him staring, but instead of pushing him away, she just turned away as her face heated up. _Why do I keep feeling like this_ , she wondered.

"Uh, you can let go now," she said.

Carlos quickly removes his arms from the princess. He puts his hands behind his back and pretends to cough, trying to forget about what just happened.

"You seem to have a knack for saving me," said Evie.

"Only because you can't stop walking into trouble," said Carlos. "Look, I know this is gonna sound... weird... but, uh, do you mind if we... hold hands until we get to my lab? I mean, it's just so that you won't fall again... if you don't mind, of course."

"You know what, Carlos, I think I _will_ hold your hand," Evie said with the tone of an elegant princess.

Evie curls her fingers around Carlos' hand, causing him to look like he was about to hyperventilate. Instead of actually hyperventilating, Carlos holds Evie's hand tight as he continues to lead her through the forest. After walking through a wall of not-so-green leaves, Evie sees a tree house with a rope ladder attached to the hatch at the bottom.

Carlos climbs up the ladder and opens the hatch to the tree house. Evie stretches her fingers before climbing up the ladder. Inside the tree house, she was impressed by how not-hideous Carlos' laboratory was. Dust was almost non-existent and there were no cobwebs in any corner of the wall or ceiling. The laboratory was filled with scientific equipment, some worn-out technology, many differently colored chemicals in vials and beakers, and one old television screen.

"I hate to be honest, but this place is dope," said Evie.

Carlos almost chokes on the water he was drinking because, for some reason, he finds it funny that Evie said a word that sounds like the name of a certain dwarf. After putting down the thermos, he takes off his jacket because it was starting to feel warm inside the tree house. He sits down on the floor and continued working on his contraption.

Evie sits down next to the boy to watch him work. Her attention was caught by what appeared to be a scar on Carlos' shoulder. The short sleeve of his shirt seemed to be covering it partially. Curious, she pulls up his sleeve, only to gasp in horror at what she found. Carlos felt the cloth run up his shoulder and turned his head to see Evie looking at what he didn't want her to see. It was a scar shaped like the letter _M_.

Carlos immediately pulled his sleeve down, not wanting Evie to look at his scar any longer. He can see that Evie was both horrified and curious by what she saw, but he didn't want to say a word and continued working on his black box.

Evie, however, chose not to remain silent. "Mal said that she was gonna give you _another_ scar if you didn't host her party. Is _this_ her work?"

"Yes," Carlos answered softly.

"What happened?" asked Evie, curious.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Carlos.

Carlos felt a hand touch his shoulder. Obviously, it belonged to Evie. He looks at her again and sees a look on her face that made him want to open up, and so he did.

"It happened last year," Carlos said. "I'm sure you can tell that me and Mal aren't exactly tight. I'm like her personal punching bag. If being spanked and yelled at by my mom wasn't bad enough, I have the daughter of Maleficent constantly insulting me and using me to beat her feelings out. So, I tried to get on her good side. Mal loves art, so I thought about making her bombs that, instead of blowing stuff up, would splatter paint everywhere. Just when I was ready to give them to her, I had an accident. I ended up detonating a paint bomb on one of her graffiti artworks, and let me tell you, Mal is no ray of sunshine when someone messes with her art, a lesson I learned the painful way. So, she grabbed a shard of glass and carved her initial on my shoulder. She marked me."

"What do you mean _marked_?" asked Evie.

"I'm her property for all eternity," said Carlos. "Basically, I'm hers to command and inflict harm on whenever she pleases and I get no say. It also means that no one is allowed to hurt me, except for her, without her say-so."

"And what happens if somebody tries to hurt you without her permission?" Evie asked. She was afraid to know the answer, but she asked anyway.

"You've seen the Gaston twins, right?" Carlos asked. "You've noticed that one of them has a bandage on the side of his neck, and the other has his left wrist taped."

"And Mal was responsible for those?" Evie asked.

"Mal's tougher than she looks," said Carlos.

"I can't imagine how painful it must've been for you that day," said Evie.

"According to Ginny Gothel, my screams could be heard from three blocks away," said Carlos.

"Did you go to your mom so she could patch you up?" asked Evie.

"I did, but she did nothing," Carlos said sadly. "She just left me to bleed in the corner while she watched the Dungeon Shopping Channel."

Evie gasped, surprised to hear what she just heard. She can see how sad and aggrieved Carlos feels from the memory. _How can a mother ignore her own child like that_ , she asked herself. Yes, Cruella De Vil is no saint, but a mother's job is supposed to be looking after their children, right? Evil Queen was not mother-of-the-year material either, but at least she made sure Evie was pampered like a princess.

Evie felt her own heart twist. Was it because she was affected by Carlos' story? She heard a sniff, and it came from the boy. She can see his eyes starting to build up with tears. Her heart felt like it was screaming at her to do something. She places her finger on his chin and slowly turns his head so he can look at her. Carlos didn't know if it was the water in his eyes but he thinks he can see Evie's eyes twinkling because they were filled with tears as well.

Evie slowly pulls Carlos closer until their foreheads touched. She closes her eyes while Carlos was left staring at her with confusion. He felt tears coming down his eyes, but instead of wiping them, he felt the need to close his eyes like Evie did. He didn't know why, but Carlos can feel himself getting better because of what is happening. Evie removes her finger from his chin and gently caresses his cheek.

If Carlos was blushing right now, he couldn't feel it. His heart and mind feel so calm that all he can focus on is that he was forgetting about how sad he was having to tell Evie the story behind the M-shaped scar on his shoulder. Evie, meanwhile, felt like in a whole new world. Her mind is quiet. Her heart is beating smoothly. Whatever it was inside her that forced her to comfort the sorrowful Carlos, she was _glad_ it did, though she wouldn't admit that to anyone, of course.

They slowly parted as they opened their eyes, staring into each other's. Evie wipes the next tear coming down Carlos' face and smiles at him. Carlos just started at her, dumbfounded.

"What did you do to me? _Why_ did you do that to me?" Carlos asked, confused.

"I don't know and I don't know," said Evie. "I guess I just... I didn't want to see you cry, not because I care or anything but because it might get annoying." Evie didn't know why, but she felt like she was lying.

"I'd say thank you, but we both know that's not allowed here," said Carlos.

"So, uh, is your thingamajig ready?" asked Evie.

"First of all, it's called a black box, simple as that," said Carlos while adjusting the wires on his contraption. "Second, I think it's just about..."

Carlos pushes the buttons on the device in a specific order. Instead of unleashing an EMP wave like he intended, the black box emits a high-pitched noise that forces Evie and Carlos to cover their ears. Carlos uses his elbow to slam the keypad on the black box, stopping the noise.

"Something's not right," said Carlos. "I don't get it. I calibrated the frequency for the electric current. I calculated for the right amount of electromagnetic energy needed to charge the power core. I tuned the internal circuitry to correspond with the right combination, which took me six hours to figure out, not to mention..."

As Carlos continued explaining the process, Evie takes a look at the black box and notices something. "I think you're supposed to connect the black wire to _that_ hole." She pointed to the lone hole on one side of the black box.

Carlos stops rambling and looks at where Evie pointed. "Hey, you're right. Man, how could I be so stupid? To charge the power core correctly, I have to actually plug a wire into the port that directs the electromagnetic energy straight to core."

Carlos grabs the black wire and plugs it into the right hole. The black box started to shake. Electricity emitted from the black box's antenna. All of a sudden, the black box unleashes a burst of electric energy that sends Evie and Carlos flying back towards the wall. The black box then shoots a beam of electricity, blasting a hole in the roof.

"Dalmatians!" Carlos cursed.

"Holy poison apples!" Evie exclaimed.

The two climbed down the tree house and looked up into the evening sky. The electric beam continued to rise until it stroke something. They can tell that it's the invisible barrier surrounding the Isle. Golden lightning flashed in the sky as the ground started to shake. Evie and Carlos felt strong wind blowing against them, threatening to push them down. As they tried to keep themselves standing, they notice small rocks in the area suddenly floating in the fair. The two of them suddenly felt a surge of electricity around the area. Was it just an electromagnetic field generated by the black box, or was it magic?

When electric beam coming from the black box disappears, they rushed back inside the tree house. The black box was, for some reason, beeping. Their attention was caught by Carlos' television opening on its own. The first scene they saw was a talking dog using a laptop, which caused Carlos to scream in terror since he's afraid of dogs. The television flashed to the next scene, where they see two identical but different teenage twins (one is a tomboy, and the other behaves like a diva) who look like Mal, except with blonde hair. The next scene shows a teenage nanny trying to calm down four kids fighting; one of the kids look like Carlos, except with black hair.

Unfortunately, the television glitched before turning off itself, much to the chagrin of Carlos.

"At least it worked," said Evie, trying to cheer up a bummed Carlos. "You know, for a little while. That beam must've penetrated the barrier."

Carlos can feel his spirits lift a little. If his experiment was a success, of some sort, that means that there's a possibility that next time, he might succeed in opening a hole in the dome permanently. However, one thing that confused him is that the electric beam that emanated from the black box didn't open a hole in the barrier, so how did his television pick up new radio waves for a few minutes? Did a hole open somewhere else?

"Until I get this thing working again, we have to keep this quiet," said Carlos. "Evie, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise," said Evie while crossing her fingers behind her back.

* * *

Carlos spent almost the entire _morning_ trying to clean up the mess in Hell Hall that the villain kids had created. Once in a while, he would look out the window and stare at Castle Across the Way. He can see Evie through a window, but he couldn't exactly tell how she is doing because of distance. Fortunately, he has a spyglass in a cabinet in the living room. Despite the knowledge that spying on someone is wrong, Carlos uses the spyglass since, after all, the Isle of the Lost is the place where being bad is good. He can see Evie resting her head on her hand as she stared at the morning sky. She appeared distressed, depressed, more likely both. He knows that she must still be thinking about leaving school, all because Mal couldn't let go of a grudge and locked her in his mother's closet. He still wishes she wouldn't leave, but he keeps telling himself that he has to accept whatever choice she makes. He just didn't want to be alone anymore. Talking to her and hanging out with her made him feel more alive than he has ever been in his entire life. Evie looked down and appeared to be looking right at him, causing Carlos to immediately duck under the window, just in case she saw him.

After cleaning up the mess from last night's party, Carlos heads to Dragon Hall feeling both tired and, for some reason, scared. He had already brushed off the fear of his mother finding out about the party since he had finished cleaning up the house, so why is he still feeling afraid?

As he walked down the halls of the school, Carlos noticed a familiar face that made him... smile. It was Evie, strutting down the hallway with both hands on her hips and winking at the boys who were staring at her. Carlos now realizes why he was afraid. He was afraid that Evie had chosen to never return to Dragon Hall, but then he wonders why he was afraid she would leave school.

Seeing Evie heading for his direction, he quickly hides behind Harriett Hook and her pirate crew. _Why am I hiding from Evie_ , he asked himself. Carlos is aware that he gets shy around girls, but his relationship with Evie is different. He can actually look at her and talk to her like a normal person, yet he's using a pirate crew as his shield to hide himself from the daughter of Evil Queen.

When Evie walked past the pirate crew, Carlos comes out and continues to watch her. He wanted to approach her and say hi, but something was holding him back and he was certain it's got nothing to do with his shy track with girls. Something about last night changed something inside him. Whatever it was, it was keeping him just walking up to her and asking her what made her decided to come back to school.

"She's so beautiful," he said softly, only to smack himself in the head for that.

He tried to think of something else, and he did find something else to think about. He was wondering if Evie was still keeping her promise about not telling anyone about his black box and the hole in the dome.

* * *

Evie did _not_ keep her promise to Carlos. While visiting the marketplace with her mother, she finds Mal and Jay discussing about a "hole in the dome," and tells them that the white-haired tech prodigy related to Cruella De Vil is the person responsible for bringing magic into the Isle. Jay was skeptical, but Mal believed her, mostly because she's skilled in determining whether or not someone is lying to her.

The three teenagers head straight for Hell Hall. Knowing that Carlos would probably not answer if he knew it was her, Mal opts for knocking on the door normally and loudly. Carlos answers the door, only to immediately slam it shut at first sight of the daughter of Maleficent.

"Go away, Mal!" Carlos yelled from the other side of the door. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble already?"

"C'mon, man. Just open up. This is serious," said Jay.

"Go away!" Carlos yelled again.

Evie steps in front of Mal and speaks through the door. "Carlos, it's me, Evie. Don't worry, Mal isn't here to punch her feelings out on you. She's here about your thingamajig. Something big happened last night because of it."

Carlos peeps through a hole in the door. "You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone."

"C'mon, I brought you a pillow," said Evie, holding up said pillow.

Reluctantly, Carlos opens the door. Evie smiles at him as she gives him the pillow.

"Is it made of duck feathers or goose down?" Carlos asked.

"Goose down," Evie answered. "According to my mother, it came from one of Auradon's castles, at least, that's what the goblin told her."

Carlos takes the pillow and feels it. It was soft, that's for sure. Maybe he can finally sleep peacefully tonight. He looks back at Evie, who was still grinning at him. Carlos couldn't help but smile back at her. Even if she was only doing this because she needed to throw it out or she felt that it would make them even after he saved her from Cruella's closet, he was still glad she was doing this for him.

Mal rolls her eyes and wishes she can vomit at the sight at the two villain kids staring at each other. "Okay, you two can make googly eyes at each other later. Where's this doohickey of yours, Carlos?"

* * *

And so, the foursome embark on a journey to retrieve Maleficent's Dragon Eye scepter from the Forbidden Fortress, using Carlos' black box as a tracking device. The journey was definitely no cake walk. Asking Dr. Facilier for a map that leads to the Isle of the Doomed. Trying to buy a mode of transportation to said Isle from goblins. Solving a riddle to cross a magical bridge guarded by gargoyles. Almost drowning in a sea of treasures in the infamous Cave of Wonders that was located beneath the Fortress. Looking into mirrors that turned them into the ugly images they see in their reflections.

Along the journey, Evie begins to learn more about Mal, like she wasn't afraid to grab the big bad Dr. Facilier by his collar and slam him against a bookcase for angering her. It further showed Evie why Mal is considered the worst of the new generation of villains. It didn't stop her from trying to get on her good side, which is her entire reason for tagging along on this perilous journey.

She also learned why Jay is considered a ladies' man at Dragon Hall. He was a smooth talker and was not afraid to make eye contact. She had no interest in him, but she does appreciate his attempts at flirting with her. When the four had to hold hands to walk over a muddy trail, Evie pretended to flirt with him to tease him.

As for Carlos, Evie can still feel some kind of sunny sensation in her chest every time she looks at him, talks to him, and thinks about him, yet she doesn't know what this feeling means. All she knew is that it felt good and, despite that, she didn't want it to stop. It just motivated her to stay close to him, literally and figuratively. Plus, seeing him turn red whenever she gets close to him amuses her.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

There was something about the way he talks to her that made her feel better about herself. His compliments about her beauty, for example, not only make her face feel like its burning but her heart beats in a way she has never felt before.

 _"At least Cruella De Vil is not like my mom," said Evie. "She always pretends to look at a magic mirror and tells me I'm far from the Fairest of Them All."_

 _"If you ask me, you're gorgeous," said Jay, making eyes at the blue-haired narcissist. "You're not my type, sweetheart, but you're definitely attractive."_

 _"Really?" Evie smiled._

 _"Nah, your mom's right. You're ugly," Jay teased._

 _"Don't listen to him," Carlos said to Evie. "I think you are the Fairest of Them All."_

 _The smile on his face tells Evie that he was being honest. She smiled at him in return, which causes Mal to fake-vomit._

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

When she pretended to flirt with Jay, she noticed an unusual look on Carlos' face. After the foursome held hands and crossed the muddy trail, she talked to him about his strange behavior.

 _"You know I can see you staring right?" She said to him._

 _Carlos averted his eyes from Evie, looking almost as embarrassed as last night._

 _"What's your deal with Jay?" She asked._

 _He didn't understand the question. "What do you mean?"_

 _"When he winked at me, you looked like you wanted to murder him," she said._

 _"I just don't like the way he looks at you, that's all," he admitted._

 _"Jealous much?" She teased._

 _"N-N-No, of-of course n-not," he stuttered nervously. "I just... you want a prince, right? I just want to make sure you don't fall for anyone else."_

 _"I don't need you to manage my love life, Carlos," she said._

 _"I wasn't trying to," he said._

 _"Don't worry. I was just teasing him. Like I said, thieves're not my style," she said. "Did you really think he has a chance with yours truly?"_

 _"Well, you're a flirt and so is he, so... you know," he said._

 _Evie just pets Carlos like a dog again while laughing. Carlos smack her arm off him and glares at her, but the smile on her face remained._

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

She enjoyed messing with him, really. She also thinks he looks cute when he's angry, mainly the reason his angry glares amuse her instead of intimidating her. Evie felt the tingling in her chest again when she and her fellow evil classmates barely survived the Cave of Wonders. She was drowning in a rising pile of sand and coins with little chance of saving herself. When she thought the end was nigh, she felt a pair of arms grab her right before they were saved.

 _Evie could barely keep her head above the sea of sand. No matter what she grabbed onto or how hard she kicked, she kept sinking faster. Carlos, too, was close to drowning after his hand slipped from Mal's grasp. His other hand was holding onto his black box and tries not to let go in the event they survive._

 _"Help!" Evie cried._

 _Carlos sees Evie not too far from where he is. She kept on sinking deeper and deeper into the sand. She reached for him, but she was too far. Carlos had one hand on the sphinx that Mal was sitting on and the other on his black box. He needed to save Evie, but to do that, he needed both his hands. Can he really sacrifice the one thing that could be the key to his freedom in order to save the only friend he has?_

 _"C-Carlos!" Evie shouted._

 _Carlos immediately releases both his black box and the sphinx. He swims towards Evie and grabs her with both arms, keeping her above the surface for a while longer. Evie holds onto Carlos as tight as she could. He didn't let go of her._

 _Suddenly, they heard Jay shout the Golden Rule, which was the key to saving them. The sand and treasure disappeared like water down a drain. While Jay complains about his empty pockets, Evie and Carlos catch themselves still hugging each other. They let go of the other and scooted away, clearing their throats and trying not to look at each other. Carlos stands up and picks up his black box, blowing sand off of it._

 _"You were gonna sacrifice your device for me?" Evie asked, surprised. "Why?"_

 _"I, uh..." Carlos paused, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm not leaving this island without you. Besides, you need to live long enough to fulfill your dream of finding a prince."_

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Evie was still surprised that he was willing to give up his black box just to rescue her. When he explained his reason for choosing her, she felt suspicious that he was being dishonest. She didn't talk to him about it, though. They just continued their trip to Maleficent's throne room, where the Dragon's Eye scepter was. However, that same feeling she felt when he saved her from Cruella's closet remained within her. Once again, she had no idea what it is or how to deal with it. As focused as she was on completing this journey, she wanted this feeling to stop. It felt so painful and delightful at the same time, it's overwhelming.

* * *

The four villain kids found the Dragon's Eye scepter. Evie was about to touch it, but Mal, for some reason, chooses to save her and suffer the fate of a one-thousand-year sleep she had originally planned for the blue-haired beauty queen. Evie, Jay, and Carlos felt an ounce of grief at the thought of Mal sleeping forever, but to their surprise, she woke up.

"H-H-How?" Evie wondered.

Mal felt something burning on her forearm. It didn't hurt like her arm was fire. It felt like magic. She pulls up her sleeve and sees a glowing tattoo of two dragons forming the shape of a heart, much like her symbol on the back of her jacket. One dragon was black and the other was green.

"My name is Maleficent. I'm my mother's daughter. I'm part-dragon. I'm immune to the Dragon's curse," Mal realized.

The tattoo on Mal's forearm mysteriously disappeared, which brought more surprise to the purple-haired artist and her fellow villain kids.

"Why did it vanish?" asked Jay.

"That wasn't there until I touched the Dragon's Eye scepter, so I'm sure _that_ has something to do with it," said Mal. "Speaking of which, where is it?"

Mal glares at Jay, whose hands were clean. Evie and Carlos had no idea either. Evie, who has been thinking about why Mal kept her from touching the scepter, stepped forward to speak with her school rival.

"You were gonna curse me, weren't you?" Evie figured it out. "That's why you brought me along, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," said Mal honestly.

"Is this about that birthday party?" Evie asked.

Mal turns away, but her silence sounded like a _yes_ to Evie.

"Mal, I was six years old," said Evie. "I learned how to steal and lie, but not to hate."

"What does that mean?" Mal asked.

"I _wanted_ to invite you to my party," said Evie. "Even back then, I wanted you to be my friend. It was my mother who didn't want to invite you. She still hated your mother for beating her in the election about who would be the ruler of the Isle."

"If you're expecting an apology for locking you in a closet full of bear traps, then you clearly don't know me," said Mal.

"I wasn't asking for one," said Evie. "I just wanted you to understand."

An awkward grin appears on Mal's face. She was beginning to feel ashamed for holding a grudge on the wrong person for most of her life. Evie had an awkward smile on her face as well. She was glad she was finally getting through to Mal. All she wanted was to be friends with her and the chances of it happening seem to be rising right now.

"So, uh, are we good? Are you two cool now?" Carlos asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Pretty much," said Mal, sounding sweet instead of sarcastic.

"When did you get soft, daughter of Maleficent?" Evie teased.

"Don't push it," Mal warned, sounding like her usual malevolent self this time.

Evie nodded nervously. Mal removes her hand from her hip and extends it to Evie. Evie flinched when she saw Mal's hand coming towards her, but relaxed when she realized what it meant. After looking back and forth between Mal and her hand, Evie did what the purple-haired teenager expected and shakes her hand.

"So, you two are friends now or something?" asked Jay.

" _Friends_ is a strong word, Jay," said Mal. "More like partners in crime, now."

"So, does this mean we can hang out?" asked Evie.

"You, me, and Jay, the three of us can become the most feared gang in the entire island," said Mal.

Carlos hangs his head and turns around, feeling left out. Evie notices this and looks at Mal with a deadpan expression on her face.

"I know that look," said Mal. "You want something."

"You want me on your little gang, then you have to invite Carlos," said Evie.

"You want me to invite _that_ wimp to my crew?" Mal asked with a scowl.

"Either he's in or I'm out," said Evie.

Mal walks towards Carlos and places her hand on his shoulder where his scar is, causing him to flinch and tense up. Even Evie felt tense, fearing that Mal would make a horribly vivid message out of Carlos as her answer.

"I suppose even a villainous gang could use a resident genius like you," Mal said with her signature smirk.

"So, I'm in?" Carlos asked.

"You're in," said Mal. "Just don't expect warm hugs and sweet words, Snowball."

"I can live with that," said Carlos.

"Okay, goody. We're all one big happy family," said Jay sarcastically. "Can we go now?"

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos returned to their respective homes only to be met with disappointment from their parents, who are each furious with them for different reasons. Despite their failure, it was not all frowns for the foursome. The bond they forged during their journey to the Forbidden Fortress has sparked something within them. They didn't care if it was something soft. They were proud to have each other.

Carlos stormed out of Hell Hall to avoid his mother's fits of crazies. He looks up at Castle Across the Way and sees Evie looking out the window again. Luckily, Carlos brought his spyglass with him. He looks through it and was surprised by what he saw. Evie was looking through a spyglass of her own. She was looking directly at him. Seeing Carlos spying on her with his spyglass, she smiles and waves at him. Carlos blushed with embarrassment, but he waved back anyway.

There was something about each other that made the other feel like a different person. Evie is manipulative, narcissistic, and very judgmental when it comes to fashion, but around Carlos, she's sweet, tender, and her intelligence started to come out. Carlos is shy, timid, and reclusive, but around Evie, he's not afraid to speak his mind and heart and share his thoughts. They're both aware that they make each other soft, but for some reason, they don't care. Evie has been alone for ten years and she finally finds someone who understands her. Carlos has been treated like garbage his entire life by his mother and by most of the villain kids, but he has finally found someone who wants to get to know him before hitting him.

If they were gonna be trapped on the Isle of the Lost forever, at least they were _happy_ to have each other to lean on.

* * *

 _Three days later..._

Evie had just left Lady Tremaine's Curl Up and Dye with a new hair style. On her way back home, she swipes an apple from a sleeping street vendor. After taking a bite out of it, her attention was caught by a certain white-haired villain kid on the rooftops. Carlos slides down a roof and then jumps off a balcony, flipping in the air before landing right in front of Evie. He wipes the sweat off his forehead before facing his blue-haired friend with a big smile on his face.

"You loving showing off, don't you?" Evie asked.

"I can't help myself. The adrenaline, it makes me do some crazy things," said Carlos.

"I thought rooftop parkour was Jay's thing," said Evie.

"It doesn't mean anyone else can't try it," said Carlos. He then notices something different about Evie. "That's a nice hair-do."

"Why, how kind of you to notice," Evie said, flattered as she twirled one her little braids. "Compliments of Dizzy Tremaine. She works at..."

"Lady Tremaine's Curl Up and Dye," Carlos said in unison with Evie. "Yeah, I know Dizzy. I come to her place from time to time to borrow some chemicals."

"I thought I was your first friend," said Evie, pretending to sound jealous.

"And that's still true," said Carlos. "Dizzy and I are more like business partners. She helps me, I pay her, simple."

"Then why does her register look almost empty?" asked Evie.

"Harry Hook, Captain Hook's only son," answered Carlos. "He empties her register every month for Uma, Ursula's daughter."

"Poor girl," said Evie, frowning.

"Can't help but feel bad for her, can you?" Carlos added.

"I guess," Evie admitted.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Carlos asked. "We're supposed to be rotten to the core, yet here we are, feeling sympathy for a little girl who is treated like how Lady Tremaine treated Cinderella."

"It does bother me a bit, but it bothers me more not looking out for her," said Evie.

"I get the feeling," Carlos understood.

Carlos reaches into his pocket and takes out a little box.

"What's that?" asked Evie.

"It's for you," said Carlos.

"What?" asked Evie.

"I know your birthday isn't until for months, but, uh, I just really wanted to give you something," said Carlos.

Carlos holds up the box in front of Evie and opens it. Evie gasped with delight at what she saw, dropping her apple as she did. It was a ring, decorated with a red ruby that was shaped like a heart. It sparkled like the evening stars and shined against the sunlight. The four golden spikes above the heart made it look like the ruby was wearing a crown. Carlos picks it up and gives it to her. Evie slowly reaches for it and grabs it.

"Where did you get a ruby so pure?" asked Evie. "Even the best jewelry here on the Isle look old and rusty."

"I may or may not have swiped a ruby from the Cave of Wonders," Carlos said, shoving his hands in his pockets with a sly grin on his face.

"Whoa! Jay's gonna be really mad when he finds out you came out of that cave with something and he didn't," said Evie. "Lucky for you, I won't tell him."

"I was gonna make a bracelet, but I didn't have enough material," said Carlos. "So, a ring was the best next thing I could think of."

"So, you're a scientist _and_ a jeweler," Evie said, complimenting him.

"So, what do you think?" Carlos asked.

Evie slips the ring on her finger. "I love it," she said.

Carlos' smile grows wider. Evie can feel herself blushing again so she covers the left side of her face with her hair, only for Carlos to take a peek by brushing her ocean blue blocks aside with his finger. He laughs silently. Evie smacks his hand off her hair and playfully punches him in the chest.

"I thought hitting people was Jay's way of treating friends," said Carlos.

"It doesn't mean anyone else can't try it," said Evie, mimicking Carlos' voice.

Carlos laughed, and so did Evie.

"I'm glad you love it," said Carlos, looking at the ring on his friend's finger.

Evie twirls the ring on her finger with a smile.

"I'm never taking it off," she said. "That's a promise I'm keeping this time."

"Oh, we'll see," said Carlos, doubting her promise.

"Yeah, we will," said Evie, taking his words as a dare.

Evie and Carlos started at one another for a long time without saying a word. The only sounds coming out of their mouths are awkward chuckles. They even looked away from each other, only to stare at each other again, wondering why they bothered trying to avoid eye contact.

"So, uh, I've been meaning to ask you," said Carlos. "Wh-Why did you come back? To school, I mean."

"You really want me to be honest?" asked Evie.

"I would really like that," said Carlos.

"It's simple. I asked myself, _What was the point of being beautiful if no one is there to see how beautiful you really are_ ," said Evie.

At first, Carlos thought it was a pretty good reason, but there was a sneaking suspicion that she was lying. She spoke in an unusually rapid rate and her lip was twitching in between words. He can tell she was nervous, but why would she be too nervous to tell him the truth? He decided not to speak to her about it just in case she would only try to deny that she was telling a lie.

"I should, uh, I should be going. My mom usually asks me to wash her _baby_ at this time," said Carlos.

"Yeah, I should be going too. My mom's probably wondering why I'm late for our daily lesson on applying mascara," said Evie.

"Don't worry, Evie. One of these days, all those make-up tips will be worth it," Carlos assured her.

"I hope so," said Evie, looking up at the invisible barrier. "We'll get out of this Isle one way or another. We got to be bold. We got to be brave. We got to get loud, you know, to make a change. To be free. To rise up and shine. Most importantly, it starts with you and me."

"You and me," Carlos repeated.

After exchanging a few more awkward chuckles, they walked past each other. Carlos looks back and sees Evie staring at the ring in her hand. He pumps his fist and quietly exclaims the word _yes_ , excited that she loved his gift. Evie looks over her own shoulder to see him celebrating. She quietly laughs in amusement as she continues to admire at the beautiful ring on her finger.

"Best gift ever," she said.

 **THE END**

 **I have to be honest, I didn't mean for this story to be this long, but it just happened. I guess that's what happens when you have too much fun writing stories. I hope this was, at least, an okay story. I just hope you would consider following my new Descendants series. Like I said before, the series is not all about relationships. The purpose of the prologue, well, I'll leave that to you to find out, whether it's obvious or not. Just give me a chance and you'll see.**

 **I will be posting Part 1 of my new series soon (The summary will say "Part 1 of Forever Wicked", so keep your eyes peeled). It takes place after Descendants 2. I loved the movie, by the way. It definitely "blew the first one out of the water" as Dove Cameron said.**

 **Notes:**

 **\- Mal's characterization in this story may seem different from the first book, but that was intentional. I just thought that while the first book established Mal's bad girl attitude in a kid-friendly way, I wanted to turn it up a bit. Mal is supposed to be the most feared villain kid on the Isle and I thought it should go beyond just being the meanest and/or being the daughter of Maleficent. I thought it'd be better and cooler if Mal actually delivers on her threats instead of just making them, hence Carlos' shoulder scar and the Gaston Twins' injuries. But I still try to maintain her maliciously poised demeanor that seems to be the most transparent part of her badness. Who says your anger has to be exaggerated to be feared? Mal's anger can look subtle and it would still be scary.**

 **\- To give you a clearer picture of the ring that Carlos gifted to Evie, take a look at the musical number "You and Me" at the end of Descendants 2. Focus on the part where Evie and Carlos have a brief duet. You can see that Evie is wearing a ring that resembles the description of the ring in this story. And yeah, I guess the ring that Evie wore in Cotillion is what inspired me to add the "ring" thing here.**

 **\- The infamous pillow conversation between Evie and Carlos was one of my favorite parts of the book (I was smiling and laughing all the way through), so I thought I'd add a little more dialogue in that part of the story. And I suppose I can admit that the pillow** **conversation is the reason why my nickname is CarVie16. I don't why. I just couldn't help it. It happened. Sure, there was that part where it said that Evie wishes Carlos was her little brother, but considering what my FanFiction pen name is... I just ship Carvie so much!**

 **\- I thought it'd be fun to show what Mal, Evie, and Carlos' EQ grades are. As for Jay, his EQ is somewhere close to 200.**


End file.
